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PURPLE COWS!
Recently I have 'Bean Thinking' about purple cows! No, I haven't gone nuts, purple cows!
The purple cow is a concept penned in the best selling book by Seth Godin entitled: Purple Cow:
Transforming your business by being remarkable?.In essence, the message is simple. Traditional advertising and marketing is dead! The best form
of marketing is to have a purple cow.A purple cow is something about your business or your individual service lines that is so remarkable
that people cannot help themselves but talk about it. Remarkable is the key word here. As Seth
Godin says, you are "either remarkable or invisable".www.wiktionary.org defines "remarkable" to be "worthy of being remarked or noticed; noticeable;
conspicuous; hence, uncommon; extraordinary".What is it that makes what you do remarkable? Not just good, or even great, but remarkable.
It doesn't have to be earth shattering and often the simplest purple cows are the most effective but, it
has to be purple! That is, it has to be different and clearly distinguishes you from your competitors.The true purple cow as discussed in the book is an inherent feature of the product or services you
provide. However, we don't all have the pleasure of starting from scratch with our business and
in my view a great deal can be gained by simply applying the purple cow concepts to your business.Real Estate businesses need purple cows as much as any other business. In my view, Real Estate
businesses may actually need purple cows even more than your more traditional businesses given
how hard it is to differentiate yourself and the huge number of competitors a vendor has to
choose from.How do you differentiate your Real Estate business in your market?
How do you differentiate your property management division?
How do you differentiate your sales division and your sales team?
How do you differentiate yourself as an employer?If you can differentiate yourself, and your actions support your words, not only will you attract more
listings, you may also be able to jusify a premium price. A premium price may be a higher %
management fee or a willingness to pay upfront for an advertising package.Although it is linked to your sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) your purple cow is different.
Your SCA takes into account your internal strengths and abilities. Your purple cow is more about how
you use those strengths to create a key differentiating point in the market. It is purely marketing
strategy, not overall business strategy.
My challenge to you is to apply the purple cow
concept to:
(a) your property management division;
(b) your sales division; and
(c) your staff recruitment and retention strategy.Once you have a clear understanding of the key
differentiating features of your business you can
more efficiently direct the limited marketing
resources available.I would love to know what you believe is your purple cow.
Click here to email me a description of your purple cow.
Reduce Your March Tax InstalmentMarch 2009 BAS's and IAS's have issued! If profits are down compared to last year (more precisely
the last year you have lodged a tax return), you may be able to reduce the PAYG Instalment due in your
March BAS or IAS.Even better, if you have already paid too much tax in your September and December PAYG Instalments,
you can be refunded the excess.One client of mine recently received a refund of more than $150,000 due to reduced profits in the current
year! That is, cash in your bank account and not the ATO's!Speak to your tax accountant because the ability to reduce your PAYG Instalments will depend on
your specific circumstances.
I hope this newsletter has got you thinking about your business.If you have any questions in regards to these topics or problems specific to your Real Estate business,
please do not hesitate to contact me.Regards
Bean Thinking About Something Else?
JOHN KNIGHT
Past Newsletters
Bean Thinking... Tips for businesses affected by the floods Bean Thinking... Budget 2010/11 Bean Thinking... Henry Review Bean Thinking... Sustainable Competitive Advantage Bean Thinking... 7 Deadly Wastes Bean Thinking... What-ifs Bean Thinking Tax... ATO Crackdown on Tax Debts! Bean Thinking Tax... R & D Tax Concessions Bean Thinking Tax... Recovery of Land Tax Bean Thinking Tax... Last Minute Tax Planning Tips Bean Thinking Super... Avoid Excess Super Contributions Bean Thinking Real Estate... Changes to Comission Structures Bean Thinking Real Estate... Benchmarks! Bean Thinking Real Estate... Purple Cows
Past Presentations
Bean Thinking Real Estate... Good, Bad & Ugly: Real Estate Business Bean Thinking Super... Super + Borrowing = ? Bean Thinking Super... Borrowing inside Super "How does it work?" Bean Thinking... Goals & Strategies for 2010/11 Bean Thinking... Tax Time for Unit Owners
UHY Haines Norton Brisbane
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www.uhyhnbrisbane.com.au
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Bundall QLD 4217
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E: goldcoast@uhyhn.com.au
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